Kim's Thoughts
Just a few thoughts I feel worthy of jotting down!
Sanford Rocked Today!!!
I had a nice day — it started out early — I got up about 5:30 and couldn’t go back to sleep. So, I took care of the girls and puttered around here for a while. Around 9:00, I was tired and ready for a nap, so I laid down with the girls for a while. I fell sound asleep and had a wild dream……
-
I dreamed that I went to the celebration at depot park. I was wandering around some and noticed people were looking at me strangely and when I ran into someone I know, she acted uncomfortable to be talking to me and I wondered why, but didn’t say anything. I had to use the restroom and went into a bathroom in a nearby house (no idea who it belonged to) and when I looked in the mirror, I found out why everyone was looking at me so strangely — I was still in my nightshirt and it had a hole in belly area and a ripped sleeve, my hair was really dirty and sticking straight up in the air and all matted, and some other details I won’t go into here (be happy I am sparing you the mental picture) — apparently I just rolled out of bed and left the house “as is” and didn’t even know it!!!! The house I popped in to had a shower, so I took one, cleaned up, fixed my hair, mended the night shirt so it looked nicer and almost like a shift dress, and “borrowed” a blazer that went well with the night shirt to make myself look more like I planned to look that way and went back out to enjoy the rest of the day!!!!
I woke up a little over an hour later and got myself ready to go out (for real, this time). I played with the girls for a while and watched some TV — the SciFi channel is running their annual Twilight Zone Marathon — and then headed out for the day. I went by the bank and ran a couple errands. I couldn’t do some of the things I planned cause a lot of places were closed for the Fourth.
I went to Depot Park and stopped in to see Emily and Lindsay and wandered around a little bit. I didn’t stay too long cause it was pretty hot and when I got there, they were “between bands”. I went to get something to eat and came home.
Then, this evening, I went back over to Depot Park to see if it was still going strong and it WAS!!! They still had a small, but nice sized crowd and a lot looking on from the railing along Moore Street. I parked on the other side of the tracks on Chatham Street and sat in the car with my top down — it was a lovely breezy evening and I enjoyed sitting there listening to the Heart of Carolina Jazz Orchestra and the Martin Luther King Community Choir. Iris Jordan sings for the choir and she is on my staff, so I was really happy to get to hear her do a solo on “When The Saints Go Marching In” — she’s really, really good!!! I sat there a little while after they were done — just enjoying the lovely night and watching the crowd disburse. Iris walked up to the car and startled me — I was parked right beside her and didn’t realize it!
Then, I just drove around town a while with the top down — what a great night for a top down drive — the only thing missing was a sky full of stars!!! The impending rain kept the stars from coming out and making it absolutely perfect — but that’s OK!!!
There were fireworks off to the south. I couldn’t tell where they were coming from, but they must have been fairly close. They were pretty – what I could see of them!
I got an ice cream at Sonic and headed home! I got to watch the end of the Macy’s Fireworks presentation on TV — they were in NYC, not sure where, but I’m thinking it was probably down around Battery Park. Very Nice!!!
Great day — hope yours was as nice or better!!!
Commercials
-
My Current Favorites — the series of Verizon commercials that spoof horror movies to highlight most cell networks have “dead zones”, but not if you have the Verizon network crowd following you around everywhere! My most favorite of the series is the lady who tries to warn the new neighbors about the dead zone in their new house and that the last owners went completely insane over it! When the new neighbors assure her that they’ll be fine because they have the network, she has to have the last word by saying “well, you’ve got crab grass!” It cracks me up every time!!!
-
The Most Irritating Commercial EVER — the one about free TV from Embarq with the “floppy armed mutton head” guy — is that supposed to be funny? What is the point? It makes no sense and TOTALLY turns me off of ever wanting to consider Embarq for anything (not that I ever would before – but definitely won’t now!)!!!
Another commercial I absolutely LOVE is the one for some some healthy cereal — I’m not sure which one! It shows a hound dog carrying a breakfast tray upstairs to his master and then you see the master jogging on a path and you expect to see the dog jogging along with him, but it flashes back to show the dog all comfy in bed with his head on the pillow and sleeping like a log!!
You Can Make a Difference….
-
Stepping Stones Children Center is having a fundraiser to come up with the money needed to make playground improvements to allow all their children (with and without disabilities) to be able to play outside and enjoy the fun and exercise they need to grow and develop physically and mentally. The cost of the improvements is $47,000. You can help in a number of ways — as simple as purchasing a $1.00 raffle ticket or volunteer to take a swim in the dunking booth or perhaps you can be a sponsor or provide a special gift basket for the raffle. Whatever you can do will be greatly appreciated and go a long way to help the children at Stepping Stones Children Center. Click here for the Stepping Stones Web Site and more information!
-
On July 12th, Local Joe’s Grill and Tap is hosting a St. Baldrick’s event. This event involves brave souls having their heads shaved to raise money for the St. Baldrick’s Foundation – an organization that raises funds for the fight against children’s cancer. Sanford Herald’s Gordon Anderson is one of the soon-to-be bald participants! You can help by donating any amount from “$1.00 – whatever you can afford to spare” to help Gordon meet his goal of $500! OR – if you are brave and want a cooler head for the summer, you can volunteer to be shaved and gather your own donations for the cause!Click here for more info on how you can contribute to Gordon’s shaving – as of right now, he’s only 50% to his goal!!! Every dollar will help!!!
-
And – near and dear to my heart – Communities In Schools of Lee County is the nation’s largest drop out prevention network. We work with the schools to provide programs and make connections that are targeted towards keeping kids in school and preparing them for life. Our annual fundraiser – the 3rd Annual Gala for Children – is an elegant black tie optional event with live entertainment, food from the area’s finest chefs, and a tour of one of Sanford’s beautiful homes. This year, the event will be held on Octover 10th. I’ll be posting more detailed information soon, but for now — you can help by pledging to be a sponsor, contacting CIS to discuss donation of an item for our silent auction, or purchasing tickets for the event at $100 each. Like I said, I’ll be posting more info soon and it will include other ways you can help CIS either through our fundraiser or other volunteer/donation opportunities we have available.
Please consider one or more of these awesome ways to help make a difference in the life of a child — the great feeling you will get from knowing you put a smile on a child’s face will be so well worth whatever you can do to help!!!
Thank you for your consideration!!!!
Look what I found….
When I sit down to read the Sanford Herald every day, one of the highlights for me is to read the “Good Afternoon” column. I always find them entertaining and informative.
On June 21, I read Bill Horner Jr’s story about the “First Picked Tomato Contest” and felt compelled to write a rebuttal on behalf of the growing number of Yankees in the South.
I moved to the Sanford area in June 1985 from a very small town in upstate New York. Although I feel it was a good decision and have truly enjoyed living here the past 10 years, I must confess that I still am, and probably always will be, a Yankee at heart.
I read, with a few chuckles, the stories of each winner (and the loser) and was captivated to see they were able to pick and enjoy their tomatoes as early as May 26. My hometown is in the infamous “Buffalo Snow Belt”, so the personal garden planting season begins during the Memorial Day weekend (and then sometimes “at risk”). What prompted me to write was the “Special Mention” of John Donnell of Goldston and the comment “Everyone knows them Northerners don’t know beans about tomatoes.”
First let me comment that I took absolutely no offense with this comment (in fact, since I’m a notorious plant murderer, I related to it and found it quite funny), but I did feel that “us Northerners” deserve equal time once in a while. I hope this story will prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that “some” Northerners do know beans about tomatoes.
My grandfather is Marlin Freeman, 86, of Albion, NY. He has been called “the man with the greenest thumb since the jolly green giant himself” because if Grandpa touches a seed or the roots of a plant, it will not only grow, but it will be the biggest and the best. His tomato plants, which amaze all who see them, grow taller than he is at 5’8″ and produce bushels of the largest tomatoes you’ve ever seen. As a child, a breakfast favorite was to place a thick slice of tomato on a piece of toast with a little mayonnaise – we called it “tomatoes on toast”. If the tomatoes came from the store or someone else’s garden, it would take more than one slice to cover the toast; however, if the tomatoes came from Grandpa’s garden, one slice was always larger than the toast.
I know what you’re thinking, if Grandpa’s tomatoes are that large, they must be mostly seeds inside! Not true – his tomatoes are firm, meaty, full of rich flavor, and have very little seeds. Grandpa is very proud of his tomatoes, dispite the fact that he never has nor ever will eat one.
Grandpa is often asked, “What is your secret, what do you do different than ‘Neighbor Joe’?” He just answers with, “No secret, just start with good plants, a little fertilizer and cow compost, water them when they need it, and don’t fuss over them. If you want tomatoes ‘today’, go to the store; if you want good home grown tomatoes, you gotta be patient.”
Albion is located near Lake Ontario. The Erie Barge Canal goes right through the center of town and among its many other historic sites is an old stage coach route called Ridge Road (now a main road). Along “the Ridge” people put up fruit and vegetable stands in front of their houses with the harvests from their gardens. I can attest that there are a great many of “them Northerners” who not only “know beans about tomatoes”, they produce some of the best fruits and vegetables in the country. Although in Sanford there are many places one can go to purchase fresh fruits and vegetables directly from the farmers, I truly miss the front yard stands along “the Ridge”. I make it a point to visit them whenever I am in the area.
Thanks for giving a “Yankee at Heart” a little “equal time”.
Telephone….Toy — I don’t get it!!!
Issue — Megan is a toy hound – loves to repeatedly squeak them and throw them in the air and chase after them and just plain walk around with them in her mouth! That’s a given! But, she typically doesn’t try to get me involved in her joy and usually wanders all around the house with them and isn’t really all that disruptive or annoying about them. BUT – the minute I get on the phone, she runs to get the loudest one she can find and takes up residence at my feet squeaking and squeaking and bumping my leg with the squeaking toy in her mouth and laying them in my lap and squeaking and squeaking!!!!! It literally starts the minute I pick up the phone and suddenly stops the minute I hang up!!!!
Take this morning, for instance – I was on the phone with a friend trying to catch her up on somethings that have been going on and Megan started in with the toys! She hadn’t touch a toy all morning long – she spent the morning calmly sitting on the couch beside me watching me read the Sanford Herald on line and looking up some info I needed on the internet…….she was very passive and content! The phone rang and I picked it up and she went into high gear with the toys!!!! We were on the phone for almost an hour and she was non-stop the whole time! As soon as I hung up, she put the toy down, got up on the couch beside me, and took a nap!!!!
When I get on the phone with Mom, she does the same thing — doesn’t matter to her who I’m talking to or how long I’ll be tied up on the phone…….I tell her that I am on the phone with Grammy and that she says to say “hi” and to stop playing with the toy, but that only makes her wiggle and get more excited – which makes her squeak louder and faster!!! ha-ha-ha
The photos are of Megan with her newest (and current very favorite) toy – a red bowling pin with a DEEP, LOUD squeak!!! I know – shame on me for buying them in the first place, but she really does love them and only gets annoying with them when I’m on the phone, which really isn’t THAT much of the time, but still……..
If I take the toy away from her, she digs at me and barks/whines for it or goes and gets another one (she has far too many to make it feasible to take them all away from her). Ignoring her is best, but it doesn’t stop the behavior – it just makes it a little less irritating (but not by much – ha-ha)!!! I’ve tried taking the toy away and giving her a treat or a non-noise making toy or chew, but that only lasts a few seconds and she’s right back to a noisy one!!! She doesn’t play with toys for the chew factor — it is the noise that attracts her, so silent ones are generally left un-played with!!!
Any ideas??? My family and friends who talk to me on the phone will be eternally grateful…….ha-ha-ha
Puttering Around on a Saturday
A quick note – Gordon Anderson from the Herald is participating in a St. Baldrick’s event at Local Joe’s on July 12th — he’s gonna have his head shaved for charity!!! The event raises money to support children with cancer. So — click here to read his blog about it — the post has a link to where you can donate to help him meet his pledge goal of $500!!! Just a couple bucks from a lot of people will do it…………won’t you spare a little for a great cause (and for the chance to see Gordon go bald)????
I have been going through some “issues” lately — nothing too serious or ominous, but I have had some wake up calls that are loudly reminding me to make healthier choices in my life so that you all can enjoy my blogging for a lot of years to come (that statement was far more dramatic than it needed to be, but I do have a flare for the drama)!!! Anyway — I did a few things today in keeping with that thought! First, I went to the Farmer’s Market on my way to my hair appt this morning (more on that later) and picked up 1/2 dozen ears of corn, a couple sweet onions, and a handful of small new potatoes – all for a total of $3.75!!!! When lunch time came, I went to Cafe 121 and had a GREAT Asian salad and passed on the dessert (I did go ahead and had my usual sweet tea, though). For an early dinner (about 4:00), I steamed a couple ears of the corn — it was DELICIOUS!!!! I had planned to roast it on the grill, but it was too hot to fire up the grill and stand outside over an open flame for 2 ears of corn……so, I steamed it in the microwave!
-
To steam corn in the microwave: shuck the corn, wrap the whole ear in a paper towel, soak it in water and squeeze out the excess, then put it in the microwave – two ears took 2 minutes – careful taking them out of the microwave and taking the paper towels off — they are VERY hot from the steam – the wet paper towel perfectly steams the corn and keeps it nice and moist!!! Good!!!
I was going to roast the new potatoes with some onion to have with the corn, but I decided to wait until tomorrow to have that part!!! Since I only had a salad for lunch, no breakfast, and an early dinner of just the corn, I was a little hungry about 7:00 — I thought very seriously about getting in the car and going to the Dairy Bar for a banana split, but squelched that urge with a Lean Cuisine Spaghetti and Meatballs meal I had in the freezer……………good girl, Kim, good girl!!!!
So – about the hair appt…….I went to get my hair done and very bravely just said “summer it up – surprise me” and only said that I liked bangs and I need it to not be able to blow into my face when the riding around with the top down — other than that, I wasn’t fussy!!! Well, I got a very nice cut – short, but not too short, with lots of body, bangs, and feathered nicely around the face so that whatever direction it blows from, there is no hair long enough to reach my eyes!!! Cool……. There aren’t many stylists that you can go in and say “surprise me” and not be sorry afterwards, but I was actually thinking to myself that if it turned out to be a horrible mistake, I could always join Gordon at Local Joe’s on the 12th, shave it off, and buy a nice wardrobe of wigs to fix it (but, wait – will a wig stay on with the top down on the pony – rut ro – might have been a gamble that I wouldn’t have been happy with…..)!!! ha-ha-ha But, Janee at Marcello’s is one that you can trust with a statement like that — she’s good!! I haven’t been to her in years – I used to have her do my hair a long time ago…..I just decided to see what she could do to give me a new look for the summer and I am happy with the result. It is really not THAT much different than I usually wear it — just a little shorter, a little different shape — not drastic!!!
It has also been a while since the inside of the pony has been cleaned – I mean really cleaned! I keep the outside looking nice, but haven’t gotten into the interior for a while! So – I popped in to GT’s on the corner of Horner and Wicker and had them do a good inside and out job on it!!! Man, it looks like a new car!!! They really did an outstanding job — and all for only $15.00 plus a little for the tip jar!!! I think I’ll be stopping in there more often!!!
The weather held out this week so that the Top Notch folks were able to finish my deck — it is all stained and looks great!! I was impressed by Top Notch Pressure Washing! I wanted to have my house cleaned and my deck needed to be stained and sealed, but I didn’t know who to call. I looked in the yellow pages, figuring I would need to call two different people for the two jobs, but noticed the ad for Top Notch that said they do both things (and more)!!! I am leery of pressure washing cause if someone comes in and isn’t careful, they can damage the vinyl siding — so I read all the ads over good for the word “licensed and insured” — they had both those words — AND, I have seen their truck in my neighborhood several times, so I took a chance and called them. I left a message and they called me right back that evening, came out the next day and left a quote in my mailbox, got me on their calendar within a week, and came when they said they would!!!! AND – did a very good job!!!! The deck looks like new — I chose a Natural Cedar color — very nice!!!
So – Friday evening, I was out putting all my deck and patio furniture back where it belongs and thought about how I never went to Big Bloomers to get some hanging plants for around the patio and deck — I always get several to add some color and appeal to my seating area! But, I just haven’t felt up to doing some of that this year and now I’m wondering if it is too late to bother!! If it is going to be a hot, dry summer, then maybe it isn’t worth the expense and trouble just to watch them die – yes, I water them every day, but they really like the rain and don’t like the intense heat and sun with no occassional rain to refresh them — I just don’t know — I do enjoy having them, though — maybe I’ll get some in the next week or so……
Well, it is about time to go to bed — the girls are all snoring around my feet and every once in a while one will look up at me and let out a little sigh or whimper wondering when we’re going to bed!!!
Movie Review – Get Smart
Its the old ‘bored on a Friday night, so wanted to go do something and decided to see a movie’ trick!
Going to the movies at night cost me an arm and a leg! Would you believe three fingers and an ear?
This was an attempt to make you laugh with my Maxwell Smart-isms! I missed it by that much!
Seriously — I LOVED the old TV series, Get Smart – it was one of my favorites when I was a kid. But, I was leery of the movie! First, cause it stars Steve Carell – I don’t particularly like his type of humor! Second, cause I was concerned it would be a bad attempt at copying a classic! But, I was bored tonight and really needed to find something to laugh at, so I decided to give it a try! I rarely ever go to the movies at night – too crowded and too expensive – I prefer matinees! But, it just seemed right tonight………….and I wasn’t disappointed!!! The movie was actually quite good — very funny — lots of action and excitement — and Steve Carell didn’t “over do it” and ruin my memory of the original Maxwell Smart…….As expected, Anne Hathaway was a perfect Agent 99, too!!!
There were some good lines, but the one that sticks in my mind is: The tech geeks were showing Max a new swiss army knife they made him with all kinds of gadgets in it. One of which was a tiny bow and arrow with the super sharp arrows attached to natural spider silk. They tell Max that “…it was very labor intensive to make. Each spider had to be individually milked. And they didn’t like it…” ha-ha-ha
I recommend it for a fun time — no deep meaning or thought provoking scenes and it was full of a lot of silly punch lines, so don’t go expecting to think a lot — just go to laugh and be entertained!!!
I give it a strong B+++ or a 4.25 out of a possible 5………go see it!!!
WHEW!!!
NO – It can’t rain tonight or tomorrow!!!!!
It has been hot and dry all week long — now, I’m looking out the window beside my desk and the wind is picking up and it looks an awful lot like it is getting ready to rain any minute!!!! NO!!!!!
I’ve been watching the weather and thought I was home free — in fact, when the alarm went off this morning, the first words I consciously heard was “hot and humid” — it went off in the middle of the weather report for the day!!!
Please, please, please let the rain hold off another day or two………I want to put my deck and patio furniture back where it belongs and have a nice new looking deck!!!! And, I don’t wanna wait another 3 (or more) days to get it!!!!
Updates, random thoughts, and general FYIs……
-
The girls have really loved the beautiful mornings – warm enough to be pleasant, but not hot, sunny, breezy, just nice!!! But, as the day progresses and it gets hot, they don’t want to be outside for very long!!! If they DO decide to stay out for a little bit, they come in and go right to one of the registers and lay on it to get cooled down fast!!! What a smart idea!!! ha-ha
-
I am watching the first episode of the new season of “Shear Genius” on Bravo – a reality show that has hair stylists competing to be a “cut above the rest”……anyway, the first challenge is to cut their model’s hair while BLIND FOLDED!!!! Are those models NUTS???? Who in their right mind allows someone with sharp pointed shears (and some with razors) to come at them to cut their hair BLIND????? Surprisingly, most came out not too bad — but, some were pretty much a mess!!! Luckily, none of the models were injured and only one stylist cut their finger!!! (By the way — Jaclyn Smith is the host of this show — her face is pretty tight – too tight — I’m thinking she’s had some work done or maybe some botox — it looks like it hurts her to smile!!!)
-
I had dinner at Myra’s tonight and were they PACKED!!! I had the meatloaf and it was delicious! As I sat there listening to some of the conversations the waitresses were having with the customers, it sounded like most of them were first timers! I’m so happy to see the word get out about this lovely country restaurant!!! I made a wise crack to Buddy on my way out saying “doesn’t look like that article in the Herald did any good at all…” – he just laughed and said that it has been “unreal”!!!!
-
Today’s “Hidden Gems” focus in the Herald was on Bud’s BBQ. I am ashamed to admit that I have never made the trip out to Bud’s, but I have heard a lot about it and know several people who swear it is the best BBQ around!!! Last week, we had some visitors at work from a couple of our sister sites for training – some from Canada and some from Massachusetts. One of our co-workers took them all to Bud’s for lunch on their last day here to show them some true local flair! They LOVED it!!!
-
A couple of the visitors (the ones from Canada) stayed an extra day to meet with me and some others. I took them to Cafe 121 for lunch! They really enjoyed their meal and one of them had their very first glass of southern sweet tea – they are hooked!!!
-
I used to watch “Jeopardy”, but haven’t paid much attention to it in years — well, I was flipping around the other night and stopped on it and think I may have renewed my interest!
-
I have been really enjoying the second season of “Army Wives” (Sunday’s at 10:00 pm on Lifetime)!!! That is the best show I’ve seen on TV in a VERY long time!!! It is fast moving, full of complex characters with interesting story lines, and it really grabs at the emotions!!! The minute it ends, I am already looking forward to the next episode!!! I wish it was a daily show so that I wouldn’t have to wait a whole week between episodes!!!
-
This bullet is for Jay……….he’ll know why! he-he-he-he I am in the process of changing doctors (before I go on, I want to say that this has absolutely nothing to do with my previous doctor – I adore him and his practice – he’s been great to me! It was a difficult decision that I gave a TON of thought to, but there were some personal convenience and specialty things that swayed me). Anyway – I am now going to the Family Doc! So far, so good……..in fact, my first visit was like a reunion of sorts – of course, I saw Jay there and I also saw an old friend that I haven’t seen in YEARS – she also works there and it was great to see her again and see photos of her grown daughters that were just little girls the last time I saw them!!!! Basically, I was VERY impressed by the nurse practitioner that I saw and the girl who drew blood from me twice already is an ANGEL!!! I have very deep, weak veins that are hard to find and once you do find them, they roll or collapse! I’ve had some that are really good at drawing blood and have been successful with mine, but most of the time, it takes multiple attempts and I leave looking like someone mutilated my arm with a sledge hammer!!! This girl got it on the first try with no pain and no “fishing around” and very little bruising (I bruise easily – no matter how good they are, they won’t get away without bruising me – not her fault) — and she did it TWICE in one week!!!! I told her that I’m putting her in my will……..
I think that’s enough for now…….
Kim's Thoughts 
Recent Comments